[Thaumaturgy] Esoteric Catholicism?

[Luke Bunyip]

Greenneck, there is an interesting church "over there"...

I am needing help regarding intergrating GURPS Magic and Thurmaturgy with 20th Century Catholicism. Minor problem being I was not raised a Catholic, none of my gaming friends are Catholics, and I am not sure that my neighbourhood priest would take kindly to being asked about his belief system as a potentially heretical form of entertainment for non Catholics.

I don't need suggestions that I go look at Wikipedia. I have been there and don that. What I am after is a "flavour suggestion", sort of a "Dominicans could do this, Jesuits could do that" type thing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. What I am after is vague templates of what advantages, skills and spells a group of Catholic Church associated NPC's could have under their belts.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

I don't need suggestions that I go look at Wikipedia. I have been there and don that. What I am after is a "flavour suggestion", sort of a "Dominicans could do this, Jesuits could do that" type thing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. What I am after is vague templates of what advantages, skills and spells a group of Catholic Church associated NPC's could have under their belts.

Are you aware that the Catholic Encyclopedia is available online? A look at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/ will give you access to all sorts of useful information on how the church itself views things.

Bill Stoddard

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Are you aware that the Catholic Encyclopedia is available online? A look at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/ will give you access to all sorts of useful information on how the church itself views things.

Bill Stoddard

No I was not. Thanks for that.
EDIT: That was really useful. Gleaned heaps of stuff about obscure military and secular Orders.

But what I am really after is sort of fictional tropes associated with different aspects of Catholism, sort of "Jesuits are good at resisting mind control, Dominicans make the best exocists" etc. Not the sort of thing a fundimental aspect of society would come out and say about itself in real life.

[thulben]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Minor problem being I was not raised a Catholic, none of my gaming friends are Catholics,

If by your "gaming friends" you mean the people in your group, then this isn't a problem, but rather an advantage! You can make crap up, attach it to one or more of the real world orders and you're good to go. Since it's fantasy anyways, I don't think anyone will beat you up for associating fictional powers to real world organizations, even if it doesn't fit with the real world tropes.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by thulben

If by your "gaming friends" you mean the people in your group, then this isn't a problem, but rather an advantage! You can make crap up, attach it to one or more of the real world orders and you're good to go. Since it's fantasy anyways, I don't think anyone will beat you up for associating fictional powers to real world organizations, even if it doesn't fit with the real world tropes.

LOL. Nice to have 'some' flimsy basis on reality :P
The link that Bill suggested was really good for getting the names of a number of militant and secular Orders. Will have fun with them.

You have convinced me. Have gone and trawled Wikipedia. Thusly, I might have some quiet fun with the Dominicans, the Discalced Carmelite and the Norbertines. The later are extremely nice and obscure. "Demon hunting in the name of Saint Norbert" has a certain ring to it...

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

The link that Bill suggested was really good for getting the names of a number of militant and secular Orders. Will have fun with them.

That's one of the uses I got from it. One of the PCs in my Buffy the Vampire Slayer campaign was a member of the Congregation for the Righteous Use of Forbidden Knowledge.

Bill Stoddard

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by whswhs

That's one of the uses I got from it. One of the PCs in my Buffy the Vampire Slayer campaign was a member of the Congregation for the Righteous Use of Forbidden Knowledge.

Bill Stoddard

Mmn, might take that and rebadge as the Legionari pro Virtus Uspero Inconcessus Scientia, which will probably offend greatly those that can actually translate English into Latin. But hey, I have some nutty Orders to define for a source of NPC's, and the L.V.U.I.S to nut out via Thauma: Styles.

I am a happy camper.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Mmn, might take that and rebadge as the Legionari pro Virtus Uspero Inconcessus Scientia, which will probably offend greatly those that can actually translate English into Latin. But hey, I have some nutty Orders to define for a source of NPC's, and the L.V.U.I.S to nut out via Thauma: Styles.

If you can get Hackard's attention, you may be able to get him to translate this. I am fairly sure in any case that the first word should be Congregatio.

Bill Stoddard

[cmdicely]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Are you aware that the Catholic Encyclopedia is available online? A look at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/ will give you access to all sorts of useful information on how the church itself views things.

Given that the online versions (there are several) are transcriptions (or in one case, page scans) of a compendium completed in 1914, "views" may in some cases be the wrong verb tense, but certainly its a good source to mine for gameable ideas with some grounding.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by whswhs

If you can get Hackard's attention, you may be able to get him to translate this. I am fairly sure in any case that the first word should be Congregatio.

Bill Stoddard

LOL. I think I have read Mr Hackard's virtual hand-ringing upon the subject of using online translation tools for Latin. May leave him undisturbed. Like Congregatio, but.